A gloriously sunny Test Park was awash with family, friends and Old Boys as Southampton ran out for the last game of the league season. Opponents Romsey were already guaranteed second spot in the table, but fourth placed Southampton knew that a win would see them leapfrog Tottonians and finish third.

Romsey soon showed their intentions by opting to kick a penalty just inside the Southampton half. Southampton levelled with a penalty of their own from Tom Howells, before a goal line drop out from Southampton went straight to the Romsey fly half. He casually slotted home a drop goal to restore the three point lead.

Southampton struck back with two tries in quick succession. The first came from Lachlan Fasher, who powered through after a some good hands from the Southampton forwards. Then straight from the restart, Southampton pushed forward and earned penalty, which was duly posted to touch on the Romsey five meter line. The catch and drive from the pack was unstoppable and skipper Jordan Dashwood fell on the ball over the line to give Southampton a 15-6 lead.

When these sides met in the first game of the season the match ended in a draw and this was shaping up to be a similarly close affair. Romsey were excellent at getting hands on the ball at the breakdown and earned a number of penalties. (They appealed for far more penalties than they actually got, and provided a constant commentary in the ref's ear). One quick tap penalty saw them move the ball out to the left winger where they made an overlap and ran in for their first try. The kicker was on excellent form and made no mistake to narrow the score to 15-13.

Alec Gray rounded the Romsey defence for a try down the left wing after a typically powerful crash from Josh Fearon created the hole. Another Romsey penalty reduced the gap and Saints went into the half time break leading 20-16.

In the second half, Southampton earned the bonus point with another try from Jordan Dashwood. From a scrum in the Romsey 22, coach Graham Harris was calling for a training ground move that few on the pitch seemed recognise, but fortunately it meant something to Dashwood. He picked up and attacked the blind side and the defence were unable to stop him grabbing his second try of the game. 25-16.

Southampton came close to scoring again when full back Dave Ward chipped the ball over the defence into acres of space behind, but the Romsey defender narrowly touched it down first to prevent the try. Instead it was Jordan Dashwood who scored again, with a repeat of Southampton's second try. Another catch and drive from the line out and the forwards powered him over the line to complete the hat-trick and give Southampton a 30-16 lead.

But Romsey were not done and two quick fire tries brought them right back into it at 30-28 with two minutes remaining. Sensing they had the momentum, Romsey pressed for the winner with the final play of the game. This brought about a frenetic finale to the game which must have been highly entertaining for any neutral who had somehow wandered into Test Park. Romsey desperately tried to keep the ball alive as tackles rained down on them from Jack Leadbitter, Tom Laycock and Lachlan Fasher. The defence held firm and Romsey eventually knocked on, with the ball bouncing loose to Josh Fearon who gratefully found touch to seal the win. When the final whistle sounded, it wouldn't have come as much of a surprise if Romsey had appealed it....

Although the final score was probably much closer than it should have been, this was still a great way to end the season. Southampton leapfrog Tottonians to finish third in their first season in this league following last year's promotion. Man of the Match went to full back Dave Ward, who shut down Romsey's kicking game with good positional play and confident counter-attacks. Dick of the Day went to Chris Alston, although I'm not certain anyone could confidently explain why...

Southampton Rugby Club

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Competition

League position

Team Sponsors

Login